Claude Joseph Goldsmid Montefiore (1858 - 1938) was son of Nathaniel Montefiore, and the great nephew of Sir Moses Montefiore. Some identify him as a significant figure in the contexts of modern Jewish religious thought, Jewish-Christian relations, and Anglo-Jewish socio-politics. Jump to: navigation, search 1858 is a common year starting on Friday. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Sir Moses Montefiore (October 24, 1784-July 28, 1885) was one of the most famous British Jews in the 19th century. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ...

He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, where he obtained a first class in the classical final examination, and where he came under the influence of Benjamin Jowett and T. H. Green. Intended originally for the ministry of the Reform congregation of England, he studied theology in Berlin, but finding himself unable to sympathize with the arrest of the Reform Movement, he devoted himself instead to scholarly and philanthropic pursuits. He nevertheless continued to be a spiritual teacher and preacher, though in a lay capacity, and published a volume of sermons, in conjunction with Israel Abrahams, entitled "Aspects of Judaism" (London, 1894). In 1886, he was selected by the Hibbert trustees to deliver the Hibbert course of lectures for 1892 ("The Origin of Religion as Illustrated by the Ancient Hebrews"). In these lectures, Montefiore made a permanent contribution to the science of theology. In 1896, he published the first volume of his "Bible for Home Reading," forming a commentary on the Bible with moral reflections from the standpoint of the "higher criticism"; the second volume appeared in 1899. In 1890 Montefiore founded and edited, in conjunction with Israel Abrahams, the "Jewish Quarterly Review", a journal that stood on the very highest level of contemporary Jewish scholarship, and in which numerous contributions from his pen have appeared. Full name Balliol College Motto - Named after John de Balliol Previous names - Established 1263 Sister College St Johns College, Cambridge Master Andrew Graham (academic) Location Broad Street Undergraduates 403 Graduates 228 Homepage Boatclub Balliol College, founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford... Jump to: navigation, search Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ... Benjamin Jowett (April 15, 1817 - October 1, 1893) was an English scholar and theologian, master of Balliol College, Oxford. ... Jump to: navigation, search Berlin ▶(?), IPA: , is the capital of Germany and its largest city; down from a peak of 4. ... Jump to: navigation, search A reform movement is a kind of social movement that aims to make gradual change, or change in certain aspects of the society rather than rapid or fundamental changes. ... 1894 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1886 is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1892 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Theology is reasoned discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). It also refers to the study of other religious topics. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1896 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1899 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1890 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Among Jewish religious leaders, Montefiore was unusual for the time and energy he devoted to the study of Christianity. He provoked considerable controversy for what was perceived by many to be an overly sympathetic attitude towards Jesus and Paul of Tarsus. Inter alia, he wrote wrote a two-volume commentary on the Synoptic gospels in the early part of the twentieth century, What A Jew Thinks about Jesus, published in 1935, and Judaism and St. Paul (1914). Montefiore was one of the leading authorities on questions of education; he was for some time a member of the School Board for London, and was (1904) president of the Froebel Society and the Jews' Infant School, London, and a member of numerous other educational bodies. Montefiore was mainly instrumental in enabling Jewish pupil teachers at elementary schools to enjoy the advantages of training in classes held for the purpose at the universities; he was on the council of Jews' College and of the Jewish Religious Education Board. He ranked as one of the leading philanthropists in the Anglo-Jewish community and held office in various important bodies. He was elected president of the Anglo-Jewish Association in 1895, and he was a prominent member of the Council of the Jewish Colonization Association. Montefiore showed great sympathy with all liberal tendencies in Jewish religious movements in London and was president of the Jewish Religious Union. He was president of the Jewish Historical Society in 1899-1900. Jump to: navigation, search Jesus (Greek: Ιησούς, Iēsoûs), also known as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity, most of whose adherents worship him as the messiah (Greek: Χριστός Khristós) and as God incarnate. ... Jump to: navigation, search An early portrait of the Apostle Paul. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar (often from (1900 to 1999 in common usage). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1904 is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1895 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1899 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1900 is a common year starting on Monday. ...

He assisted Rev. Simeon Singer in preparing the standard Anglo-Jewish prayer book. This was acknowledged in the original preface, but his name was removed from the preface of the second edition. Simeon Singer (1846-1906) was a Jewish preacher, lecturer and public worker. ...

As a revered scholar, philanthropist and spiritual authority, Claude Montefiore belongs to that important group of learned laymen who have sought to revolutionise Judaism. He was a founder of British Liberal Judaism at the turn of the 20th Century, considered to be the most original Anglo-Jewish religious thinker of his day, and still remains a highly controversial figure. Montefiore infuriated his enemies and often alientated his supporters with his radical agenda in which he applied the findings of historical and literary analysis to the Jewish scriptures, attempted to radically systemise rabbinic thought, and by his desire to learn from and re-express aspects of Christian theology. The extent to which he incorporated the teachings of Jesus and Paul into his own ethical and theological musings makes him unique among Jewish reformers. In his dealings with Christians and Christian thought, he can also be regarded as a forerunner to those who would later fully partake in Jewish-Christian dialogue. Montefiore is an important figure in Anglo-Jewish history, not least for the way in which his complex identity reflects the difficulty inherent in attempting to make Judaism genuinely relevant to the modern world. Jump to: navigation, search Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. ...

Key Reference

Daniel Langton, Claude Montefiore: His Life and Thought (London: Vallentine Mitchell Press, 2002). Jump to: navigation, search Daniel Langton is a lecturer in Religions & Theology at the University of Manchester, UK. His major academic interests include the history of Jewish-Christian relations in general, modern Jewish thought, Holocaust Theology, and Anglo-Jewish history. ...

Select Bibliography

C.G. Montefiore, The Hibbert Lectures; On the Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by the Religion of the Ancient Hebrews (London: Williams & Norgate, 1893).

C.G. Montefiore, The Bible for Home Reading (London: Macmillan, 1899).

C.G. Montefiore, Some Elements in the Religious Teaching of Jesus (London: Macmillan, 1910).

C.G. Montefiore, Outlines of Liberal Judaism (London: Macmillan, 1912).

C.G. Montefiore, Judaism and St. Paul; Two Essays (London: Max Goschen Ltd, 1914).

C.G. Montefiore, Liberal Judaism and Hellenism and Other Essays (London: Macmillan, 1918).

C.G. Montefiore, The Old Testament and After (London: Macmillan, 1923).

C.G. Montefiore, The Synoptic Gospels, 2nd edn, 2 vols (London: Macmillan, 1927).

C.G. Montefiore, Studies in Memory of Israel Abrahams (New York: Jewish Institute of Religion, 1927).

C.G. Montefiore, Rabbinic Literature and Gospel Teachings (London: Macmillan, 1930).

C.G. Montefiore, The Synoptic Gospels (New York: K.T.A.V. Publishing House, 1968), with ‘Prolegomenon’ by Lou H Silberman.

C.G. Montefiore and Herbert Loewe, eds, A Rabbinic Anthology (London: Macmillan, 1938).